What Could Be
by ToujoursMiraculous
Summary: A villain by the name of Viator enters Ladybug and Chat Noir's world from an alternate universe. Trying to get him to leave, they get pulled along with him into the portal, where they discover what connections they have with Felix and Bridgette.
1. Chapter 1

_Run faster! This_ cannot _happen, not again! No, no, no..._

As always, Marinette was running late for school, and she had just missed the bus... again.  
She stood on the curb, slumping her petite shoulders in defeat as she watched the bus drive off into the distance.  
Sighing, Marinette began trudging towards school on foot.

"You should have waited to see Master Fu until after school," Tikki popped out of Marinette's little handbag. She hated it when the gentle god scolded her.

"I know! But ever since I returned the book, I've been trying to learn more about Miraculouses and the way they work," Marinette began animatedly. "Like all of these new powers I didn't even know about! I'm going to have to tell Chat Noir all about them when we're suited up again..." she trailed off a moment before her face changed instantaneously, looking as if she had just had a whiff of a particularly smelly wheel of Camembert.  
"Well, maybe I won't tell him the _one_ , as I think he'll abuse it more than use it."

Tikki ducked into Marinette's bag so she was out of sight from a passerby, as she had the suspicion that she caught his attention. "That may be so, but you're going to have to tell him anyway. He might need to know this power to save his life one day... or yours!"

"Or he'll use it to scare me half to death... I'm kidding Tikki, of course, I'll tell him," said Marinette quickly when she was given "the look". Sometimes it felt like Tikki was a second mother to her as opposed to a friend, but she found this endearing.

The red Kwami gave a simple nod of the head in approval, before changing the subject.  
"Are you finally going to talk to Adrien today?" she asked in an even tone.

Marinette made an exaggerated, panicked face, flailing her arms around her head nervously.  
"Me? Go up and talk to Adrien?! Hahaha, you must be joking!" she laughed, the suggestion was absolutely absurd.  
The bug sighed in slight frustration, but it was lost to the girl, who was too preoccupied fantasizing about talking to Adrien.

She continued her walk to school in a daydream, which is certainly not a safe thing to do when you're prone to clumsiness.  
Marinette, however, made it to school safely and walked into class - late as per usual - drawing the attention of every pair of eyes in the room.  
She didn't need an obstacle in her way to lose her footing, her own two feet could do the job just fine. Which is exactly what happened when the poor girl face-planted on the hard, wooden floor; a sound completely sui generis escaped her throat. And of course, the person with a front row seat to witness the incident and all its glory was none other than Adrien himself.

Chloe and Sabrina laughed, a little too hard and loud to be real. The rest of the class sat in silence. Not only was this sort of scene normal for Marinette, but if Chloe was going to laugh at someone's misfortune, the rest of the class automatically did the opposite.

Marinette raised her head and began to get back on her feet.

"Are you okay?" asked a gentle voice coming from her right. The sound made her heart flutter.  
A blush crept onto her face, as she grinned just a bit too wide to be natural.  
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" she said loudly as she gazed up at the blond model that was looking down at her from his desk.  
Abruptly, she whisked away to her seat behind him, shooting a desperate look at her best friend before she put her head down on her desk in defeat.

Alya chuckled and patted her best friend's shoulder in comfort.

Half an hour after Marinette arrived, the class had a short break between the next hour of lessons, where Alya insisted the girl must be an insomniac to always oversleep and be late for school.

"Speaking of..." Alya said, her attention turning towards the boy that sat in front of her. He rested his head on his desk, clearly zonked out by the sound of his slow, rustling breathing. She crumpled up a piece of paper and chucked it at his head.

Nino jerked awake, disoriented. "Wha?" he mumbled, wiping the drool that was on the corner of his mouth.  
"Why are you sleeping in class? I just got done scolding Marinette for not sleeping enough, when it looks like you're the one that really needs it."

He sat up straight, adjusting his cap. "Sorry. I was up super late last night with my little cousin. He's visiting from Marseille, and he and his parents got in kind of late. Then he woke me up a couple of hours earlier than I'm used to, completely full of energy, so I'm pretty much a zombie today."

"How old is he?" she asked.

"Noel's about five, I think. About the same age as the twins, anyway."

Alya grinned deviously. "How about after school, you pick up Noel, I get the twins, and we visit the park. Then after, the two of you can come by my place where you can take a nap while I watch the little angels?"

"Ah, you'd do that?!" he exclaimed happily. "Thanks! I'll take you up on that. I love the little dude and all, but I need my beauty sleep."

She gave an amused "hmm", and turned to Adrien.

"You and Marinette are welcome to join us in the park today if you'd like," hinted Alya, a sly smile playing on her lips.

Adrien glanced back at Marinette, his eyes locked on hers. "Do you want to Marinette? I have a free day today."

Those dazzling eyes made her brain go fuzzy, her thought process and concentration completely shut down. So in reply, she just giggled nervously, a goofy, awkward grin on her face.

Alya rolled her eyes. "That's a yes," she answered for her friend, before lightly punching her on the shoulder.  
Marinette didn't notice.

"Okay, cool," Adrien smiled at her before, turning to talk with Nino.  
Alya wondered if he was completely unaware of Marinette's strange behavior. Maybe he was used to it considering she reacted strangely during almost every interaction they have had, or maybe he was just being polite not to react.

"Girl, seriously!" she hissed quietly so the boys wouldn't hear her. "I'm going to have to step in and do something about this. It's literally painful to watch at this point."

"Alya!" she hissed back, her eyes screaming a silent warning. She ignored it however, and began to concoct a plan.

Marinette groaned and immediately started to massage her temples as she could feel a headache coming on. Between her embarrassment from earlier, her worry about her afternoon in the park, and the punishment from Mrs. Bustier she was inevitably going to receive at the end of the day, there was a lot weighing on her mind. What she'd give to be back in Master Fu's shop learning more about the Miraculous instead of this classroom.

This had to be a first. She was actually _dreading_ seeing Adrien after school today. She knew that her friend, yet well-intentioned, wouldn't let it go, and certainly would say whatever she thought would bring them together.  
By the end of the day, she knew she was either going to be really happy or slip into a depression. 

* * *

Relieved for the school day to be over, Marinette stretched and yawned after she got out of her seat.

"Why don't you two go to the park, and we'll meet you there after Nino and I pick up the kids?" Alya winked at Marinette before taking Nino's hand and pulling him out the door.

Adrien and Marinette were left standing there awkwardly, watching their friends run off. And without either saying a word, they began to head towards the park.

Every so often, she'd look at him out the corner of her eye, but she would quickly look straight ahead when she caught him doing the same thing.

"So..." Adrien began.

"So..." repeated Marinette nervously.

He cleared his throat as they sat down on the bench in the park. "I remember the last time we were here. Eating your father's spinach and salmon pie. Talking about the game tournament..."  
"Until The Gamer showed up," she added, wanting to contribute something to the conversation.

Adrien's mouth stretched into a grin as he remembered that day.  
He had had to rescue Marinette from The Gamer, and when he had brought her to safety on a nearby rooftop, she didn't hold back from giving her opinion when he had something to say about the matter.  
She always acted so differently around him as Chat Noir than she did when she was with just him. Adrien wondered why, because he particularly liked that side to her and wished he could see it more.

Marinette noticed he seemed highly amused by something.  
"What?" she laughed, enthralled by his smile.

"Nothing," he answered, shaking his head. "Just remembering that day is all."

She nodded and sat back to lean against the back of the bench as she recalled her own memories of that day - many of which involved Chat Noir.

Marinette let out a breathy, melodic laugh.

"What?" Adrien asked, chuckling along with her.

She simply shook her head as she stood up. "Let's go over there," she pointed towards the swing set that stood below a canopy of trees.

His eyes trailed over to the direction she was pointing, and as soon as he saw the swings, an idea came to mind. "I'll race you to the swings," he challenged, and before she even had time to open her mouth, he started running towards them.

Marinette's bluebell eyes flashed, her competitive streak taking over.  
"You're on!" she shouted, trying to catch up.

He had slowed down for her to catch up, but she was unaware of any foul play.  
They reached the same swing at the same time, but Marinette was not about to let him win, so she kept nudging him away with her elbow and hip. He tried fighting back, but she was much stronger than he thought.

Marinette triumphantly took her seat, winning the race.

"Wow Marinette," he said astonished. "I guess you're the winner. But now let's see which one of us can swing the highest."

She shrugged with a pleased expression on her face and began pumping her legs. Back and forth she swung, reaching higher and higher. When she felt satisfied with the height she had accomplished, Marinette turned to look at her crushes progress. Her jaw dropped when she saw that he somehow managed to reach almost parallel to the bar the swings were tied to.

"I think you win," she called to him, their swings out of sync. He was up in the air, swinging forward when she was swinging back.

They stopped trying to gain momentum, letting the swings slow on their own when the two heard voices calling their names.  
Nino, Alya, and the three children that were clutching to them came up to greet them.

"Marinette!" cried one of Alya's sisters, who let go of her hand to hold Marinette's.

She brushedher free hand gently through the little girl's hair. "Hey, kiddo! Did you lose that tooth yet?"

"No," she grumbled. "And it's driving me craaazy!"

The teen girls giggled at her exaggeration of the word. "Who's that?" the other twin asked, pointing to Adrien.

"That's Adrien, he's a friend of ours. And don't point at people, it's rude," Alya scolded as she pushed her sister's arm down.

"Why don't you go play with the twins, Noel?" suggested Nino. "We'll be right over here if you need us."

"Okay!" exclaimed Noel, taking the hands of each of the twin girls as they ran off giggling to play.

Nino sat on a bench in the shade, letting out a sigh of relief. "Finally."

"How are you ever going to be a parent someday if you can't even handle the energy of a five-year-old in your teens?" Alya stood facing him with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know," he answered simply, adjusting his cap as he leaned back with his arm resting behind his head.

Alya just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You know what, it's kind of hot out here. Marinette, would you and Adrien mind getting some lemonade for all of us?" her voice sounding a bit too formal to be natural.

"What? It's not hot toda-"

"Sure, I don't mind," he answered with a smile. "If you don't want to Marinette, I can just-"

"No, no. It's okay, I'll go. We'll be right back," she said to Alya and Nino as she and Adrien walked away.

Nino peaked up from under the rim of his cap. "What are you doing, Alya?" he sighed.

"I'm not doing anything," she denied.

"Let them be. It'll happen when it's supposed to happen."

"But they-" she started, until Nino shot her a look. She groaned, and threw herself into the side of the bench he wasn't sitting on, her arms crossed.

"No, don't do that, Noel!" Alya shouted, running out of her seat to go stop him from getting hurt.

.:.:.:.:.:.

"Do you mind if we grab a snack along with the lemonade?" Adrien asked suddenly, his hand on his stomach.

She shook her head. "I could use something to eat, too."

They walked past her bakery - heading for a shop not too far away from the park - when the teens heard them: screams and gasps came from the people walking down the same street they were on.  
Adrien and Marinette looked around desperately, trying to find the source of the horror, unable to see anything suspicious on the ground. It was then that the two noticed the people were looking up.

A very large blue-green circle had appeared in the sky, becoming larger and larger with every second. It shimmered and sparkled, its form constantly changing shape.

Then it began to pulse and glow brighter and brighter... and a dark figure immersed from the light.  
The people below ran away in fear, trying and hoping to get as much distance between it and them as their feet would allow them.

For a second, Marinette and Adrien worried how they could get away from each other without making the other suspicious, when a crowd of people ran right between them.

Using this to their advantage, they ran in opposite directions, scanning the streets for a safe place to transform.

"Plagg!" Adrien shouted, lifting the side of his jacket away from his body to let the Kwami free.  
"Whaaat? I'm tired," the cat Kwami whined. "I haven't even had any cheese since this morning. Can't Ladybug handle it today?"

Adrien gave him a dull look, before snatching him up in his hand. He held his arm out from behind the building he was hiding behind so that it was all that could be seen of him from anyone nearby.  
Plagg looked up and caught a glimpse of the giant supervillain.

"Oh... That's not an akuma," he said weakly.

"No, I don't think so, either. Plagg, claws out!"

When his transformation was complete, he scaled the wall of the building and flipped himself up on the roof. A few building's down, he saw Ladybug coming his way.

"Ladybug," he greeted warily, his eyes locked on the villain in the sky.  
"Chat," she replied weakly, her eyes too on the dark figure.

"What is that...?"

"I don't know, Chat. Whatever it is, I don't think it's friendly."

"Should we ask it what it's doing here?" his eyes breaking away from the sky to look at her.

She broke away to look at him as well. "Since it hasn't done anything yet, I suppose so."

The heroes watched as the figure descended from the sky, and headed in its direction.  
When they were close enough, it stopped what it was doing, and turned around to face them.

"E-Excuse me, but we'd like to know what it is you're doing here," she asked what looked to be a man encased in dark grey armor that had a slight purple hue to it.  
His small yellow eyes glowed beneath the facemask. There was no nose, but a black vertical slit where they assumed his real nose hid behind. His mouth and the way the armor emphasized his face shape, made it appear as if his head was that of a robotic skull.  
His torso, arms, and legs sported strange, unfamiliar markings in bright shades of red, green, and purple.

He chuckled a very slow and deep sound. It was ominous sounding enough without the slight technological hum that intertwined with his voice.

"Viator doesn't answer to you," he growled, as he lifted his left hand, aiming it at Ladybug.

"NO!" Chat shouted, pushing Ladybug out of the way seconds before Viator shot a green laser out of his hand. The beam had instead hit the roof, having burned a massive hole with a greenish glow around its edge.  
"Okay, definitely NOT friendly!" he shook as he hovered over her, his eyes wide with terror. He had to examine her face a moment to make sure she was in fact alright.

Her eyes mirrored his exactly for a moment before he rolled over on his side so they were free to get up and run in an instant.

But Viator paid them no more attention. They weren't his target.

After a bit of running away from him, they realized he had lost interest, and used the time to work out a plan.

"What do we do?" Chat asked, still trying to catch his breath and calm himself down after what almost took place.

Ladybug looked up at what she could only call a portal that hovered in the sky.

"Easy. We get him to go back through the portal."

"And how do we do that?"

"That's the hard part," she sighed. "Neither of us can reach it, and it won't do us any good to convince him to leave... OH!" she cried abruptly, startling her partner. He made a strange noise in the back of his throat.

"Sorry Kitty," she apologized. "I just can't believe I didn't think of it before, considering I just learned about it this morning."

"I don't understand," he sounded completely lost.  
She rubbed his shoulders comfortingly for a moment. "Don't worry, it will make sense in a moment."

She took a couple of steps away from Chat. Ladybug removed her trusty yo-yo from her hip and drew a pattern on it that he had never seen before.  
The yo-yo began to glow an orange-yellow, and with it, so did Ladybug.

He watched her transform, her color changing from red to a glorious shade of light orange. Her hair was let out from her pigtails, flowing down in a small curtain around her neck.  
But the most amazing part of all was the magnificent wings that came out of her back. The translucent part of her wings glistened in the vibrant sunlight.

Chat Noir stared at her, absolutely stupefied.

His mouth popped open, his eyes fixated on her. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

"Now to test my wings," she said, focusing her concentration on them. Ladybug managed to get them to move after about a minute, and even hovered a few feet above the roof. When she was comfortable with hovering, she flew up higher and higher, and further and further out while Chat Noir stood there, watching her from below in amazement.

"I think I'm ready to fully fly," she said as she flew back down towards him. "I'm going to try to lure him back -"

"What? No!" Chat cut her off, grasping her wrist. "No," he repeated, his voice calmer but shakier. "I can't let you do this alone, it's too dangerous. He almost vaporized you! Please, I can help you."

"But you can't fly, Chat," she insisted, clear from her tone of voice that she was set to do this alone.

"Please," he pleaded, his eyes looking up at her. "Carry me up there with you. I have an idea."

Thinking it over a moment, she sighed.

"Do you trust me?" Chat asked softly.

"Of course."

The desperate look he gave her was the deciding factor. Ladybug flew over, and in one swoop, picked him up from under his arms, and headed towards Viator.

On their way, she saw him shooting purple lazers at things. Her mind trailed off into a different direction for a moment as she contemplated what his purpose could be, and why he was shooting purple lasers at things.

"Ladybug?" she heard a voice ask. She shook her head to clear it.

"What?"

"Drop me off over there, and lure him to me. When he gets here, pick me up and we'll make sure he gets back through the portal."

"Got it."

Ladybug set Chat down where he had asked. Now it was her turn to be the distraction.  
 _How weird_ , she thought, before scolding herself about now not being the time to let her mind wander.

She knew she was going to have to get him angry. _Really_ angry if he was going to shift his focus on her.

She flew quickly at him, making sure to pass by his line of sight to grab his attention.  
At first, he simply tried to bat her away, throwing a laser or two in her direction. But when she persisted, he grew angry.

"Pesky insect! I shall rid you from this world!" the armored villain bellowed, lunging for her.

Ladybug flew as quickly as her new pair of wings could carry her, and lucky for her, it was enough. She reached Chat, picking him up in an instant.

Vialor hovered in the air in front of them. "Any last words before I wipe away your existence?"

"Just one: fantastick!" Chat's baton extended outwards, smacking Vialor right in the chest with enough force that he plunged backward.

Ladybug with Chat, flew closer and closer to the portal until he vanished within.

Letting out a breath of relief, Chat began bringing the baton back to him. But before it could find its way out of the portal, a force started yanking them closer and closer to it until they too vanished into the luminescent ring.

* * *

 **AN:I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter. This idea came to mind the other day, and I just had to start working on it. That being said, I'll update it once every week or two. Probably. Since this fic requires a lot more planning and detail, I'll be writing several chapters in advance. I'd appreciate it very much if you guys let me know your thoughts!**

I'd appreciate it very much if you guys let me know your thoughts!

Also, for my readers of Betrayal, From Where You Are, and All Mixed Up, I'm going to be working on chapters for those as well, don't worry. c:

 **~ToujoursMiraculous**


	2. Chapter 2

"W-where are we?" muttered Ladybug as she opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground. Chat Noir groaned nearby, the sound encouraging her to sit up.

"Are you alright?" she asked, getting to her feet.

Chat stood up slowly, brushing the dust off of his suit. "Yeah. Are you?"

"I'm fine," she replied. Ladybug took a look around her, noticing that things looked quite familiar. But also for some reason, very strange. She just couldn't put her finger on what was giving her that uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"This isn't our city," Chat breathed, the words sending chills down Ladybug's spine. She took a closer look, and noticed the sky wasn't blue, but a bleak grey-blue. The sun wasn't nearly as bright, and the most eerie thing of all was the silence.

Paris was never this quiet, much less in the middle of the day. And upon closer look, buildings looked disheveled, run down, and were falling apart.

"What happened...?" Chat Noir said in awe as he spun around to look at everything around him.

"Did Viator do this?" she gaped more and more as she took in her surroundings.

"I don't know..." he blinked. "But this is really freaky... And things just got freakier," Chat's eyes grew wide as he pointed over towards a couple of figures a few buildings away, they were clearly dressed like Ladybug and Chat Noir, only they didn't quite look like them...

"Maybe they'll know something, come on!" Ladybug ran towards the buildings, and swung her yo-yo to catch up. Chat Noir followed close behind her.

It took a few minutes, but Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to cut off their almost-doubles.

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" Ladybug asked when they stopped the Cat and Bug superheroes in front of them.

Neither of them looked particularly shocked to see them there. "Oh no, it happened again..." the Bug shook her head, her fingers massaging her forehead.

"You're in a different dimension, or well, an alternate universe from your own," the Cat informed them. He took a few steps towards them, and examined them carefully.

"Let's see... ah, you're Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng aren't you?" his almost bored expression had grown interested, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

As if finding out that they were no longer in the same dimension anymore and running into two superheroes with their Miraculouses wasn't enough to throw them into shock, the fact that he knew who they were, and knew who their partner was when they didn't...

Chat and Ladybug froze, their eyes as big as saucers, and their jaws dropped to the ground. They just stared straight ahead at the Cat hero. After a few moments, they side glanced at each other, very slowly turning their heads to face one another.

"...Mari...nette?"  
"A-A-Adrien...?"

"You... didn't know each other's identities already? Sorry, I probably should've waited to speak to you individually about that..." the Cat hero laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head at his blunder.

"Black Cat, you're a moron," the Bug said bluntly. "I'm reaaally sorry about him, he typically doesn't think before speaks," she flashed him a look.  
"Since this is clearly news to you, we'll give you a few minutes. We'll be over there when you're ready to talk. I've got to teach the cat a lesson," she growled the last sentence, glaring back at Black Cat. He smiled sheepishly back. "I'm Coccinelle, by the way," she added before leaving the two alone.

"So... you're Marinette?" Chat no longer had the same cocky and flirty tone of voice he used when he was Chat Noir, but sounded more gentle and calm, like Adrien.

"And you're... you're A-Adrien?" she stammered, the cool, calm, and collected front Ladybug put up was fading away.

They both shyly nodded.

"What do we do now?" Chat wondered, his eyes never leaving the ground.

Marinette's mind was going everywhere. Every interaction she ever had with him as Chat, including when she was in her civilian form, bounced around in her head. The more her mind remembered, the more she felt like she was going to explode from the excitement that was building up inside her.  
Then it hit her: there was a time to let her feelings overwhelm her, to freak out and completely lose her mind over this news. But that time was not now, as they were dealing with a serious situation. It took everything in her not to start screaming her lungs out.

"We just... pretend like everything is like it was before. That we don't know," she answered as sternly as she could manage.

Chat looked dumbfounded. "What? But... but why?" his cat ears drooped a little.

"Until we can help stop Viator and get back home, we can't let this be a distraction," she said seriously. "And you get distracted enough as it is."

Chat gave a devious grin, and flitted up to her face. "Am I _that_ distracting to you, m'lady?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Ladybug's eyes grew wide, as she tried to sink back away from him a little. "Uhhh..." she blinked, trying to think for a moment. Then she shoved his face away. "When I said to pretend like everything is like it was before, I didn't mean _this_."

"Oh but Bugaboo, are you really _feline_ the way that I do?"

"Stop."

"You _cat_ resist me, can you?"

"Seriously."

"I -" he began, but Ladybug grabbed his face to silence him with one hand, his mouth puckered like a fish as a result.

"You're really bugging me right now, Chat."

If Ladybug wasn't holding his face so tight, he would have been beaming.  
"I knew it," it came out muffled.

Ladybug sighed, but gave him a warm smile.  
"Now let's try to get ourselves out of this, shall we?" she suggested, and he nodded as she let his face go.

They looked over at Black Cat and Coccinelle, who were clearly arguing.  
"Wow, and I thought we bickered," Chat commented, his eyebrows raised.

Coccinelle looked pretty livid at Black Cat, and he gave everything right back at her, it seemed by the way he was moving his arms in anger.

"Is everything okay here?" Ladybug interrupted the argument. "I hope this isn't because of us."

"Oh don't worry, we argue practically on a daily basis," Coccinelle replied with a laugh and the wave of her hand. "Sometimes I wonder who you are under that mask, Black Cat, because if you act this way as your civilian self, I don't see how you could have any friends."

"Who says I have friends?" he said seriously. Coccinelle did a double take. "Wait, are you serious? You don't have friends?"

He shrugged. "Never needed any. All I need is you after all, _ma chère_." Black Cat became much too close for her liking, and she pushed his face away from hers.

Chat Noir's jaw dropped, and Ladybug giggled. Coccinelle just looked annoyed.  
"Oh mon dieu, get your face out of my face, or so help me!"

Black Cat had a very wide and satisfied grin on his face. "See that? There's a method to my madness."

"Oh what? To drive me up the wall?"

"No, to get your attention," his voice when he replied was so intense and seductive, it made even Chat Noir uncomfortable.

"So uh, about this whole being in another dimension or universe or whatever. Yeah... how is it that we get back to our own?" he asked.

Black Cat grumbled something under his breath.

"We're not sure yet exactly, but Viator will need to come back first, and I have no idea when that will be," Coccinelle replied. "So for now, you'll have to stay here with us."

Ladybug and Chat Noir gave each other nervous glances. What would happen if they were away for too long? What would their friends think? What would their _parents_ think?

"Ladybug, you can stay with me. Can Chat Noir stay with you, Black Cat?"

"Why not," he shrugged. "Doubt father will care..." he mumbled.

"How about we take them home for awhile, and meet back here in a couple of hours?" Coccinelle suggested.

Black Cat sighed. "Alright, two hours. Come on Chat Noir," he gave one quick jerk of his head, and leaped away.

"Ahh, I'll see you soon," Chat said gently, as he gave a little bow and bounded off to keep up with Black Cat.

Coccinelle giggled. "He sure is sweet. You're pretty lucky," she had a smile on her face, but a bit of sadness tinted her eyes. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying."


	3. Chapter 3

Ladybug and Coccinelle headed for the Bakery.  
Coccinelle landed on top of the balcony, and slid down into the trap door that led to what would be Marinette's room in her dimension.

Only this wasn't her dimension.

Ladybug followed, expecting to enter a familiar room. An uneasy feeling settled within her when she saw how different the room was to hers.

Everything from the bedding, to the desk, and the color of the room was unfamiliar, a calm blue theme apparent.

Coccinelle detransformed. "Let me introduce myself, again, I'm Bridgette Dupain-Cheng."

Ladybug gawked at her. She could see the resemblance, but who was she exactly?  
Bridgette caught on, and answered her unspoken question. "I suppose you could say we're siblings, in a way. You see, my dimension is one of many timelines. In this timeline, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng had a child a few years earlier than in yours, thus why I exist here instead of you."

Ladybug let her transformation go. "How do you know all of this?"

Bridgette sunk down into one of her lounge chairs and leaned her head back. "Black Cat and I have had to fight our fair share of strange villains, and in the process we've met some strange heroes. One of which was able to cross dimensions. He showed us yours and one other, after Viator showed up."

Marinette walked around the room, taking in everything that she was both seeing and hearing. She spotted some cut-out pictures of a young man pinned up on her wall. As she got closer, she noticed he was blond with cool blue eyes, his features screamed Agreste.

"Who's this?" she muttered, pointing to the wall.

"Oh, him," Bridgette blushed. She got up from her chair and joined Marinette. "That's Felix Agreste. I suppose you could say he's Adrien's brother from another dimension," she giggled.

Marinette saw the way Bridgette smiled at the photographs, the way her eyes softened. She held her hand over her heart, a subconscious move.  
"You like him," she expressed her observation aloud.

Bridgette shrugged. "It doesn't really matter though, Felix is... well, he doesn't seem to care for me," she laughed hopelessly. "He always seems so annoyed by my presence. He seems so annoyed by everything, really. Not that I can blame him, I guess. He's had a really hard life. A father who's cold and demanding of him, a mother that just disappeared one day and none of us know why, and he has no friends. Felix shuts everyone out and acts like everyone around him is beneath him."

Marinette got closer to the photographs and analyzed Felix's face.  
Yes, the features Marinette would associate with the Agreste's were there. The blonde hair, his nose, the shape of his face and the blue eyes that resembled his father's but there was another feature other than eye color that Felix had in common with Gabriel that Adrien lacked: _warmth_ , or well, lack of it.  
Felix looked highly uninterested and bored in every photograph she had of him.

"You know, Adrien's life was exactly the same," Marinette said. "Everything except for the part about friends. I'm... well I'm wondering something..."

"What's that?"

"I know why I love Adrien. He's kind, thoughtful, caring, warm... but what I don't understand is why you love Felix if he's so cold and bitter?" Marinette regretted asking the question as soon as it left her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that, that was really rude of me!"

Bridgette however wasn't phased by her question.

"No, it wasn't. My friends ask me the same question all the time, and rightfully so. To those on the outside, they see him as someone to keep their distance from, and me, a stupid girl for loving someone that seems to hate everything. My answer for them never suffices, but maybe you'll be able to understand why. I know that what we see is just a wall he's put up to protect himself," she leaned against her desk that sat below his photographs. "I know he pushes people away so he won't have anyone to lose, so he's alone. What he needs is someone to show him that things are never as bad as they seem, that there's always hope and that he doesn't have to be alone."

"I can understand that," Marinette looked glum. "That easily could've been Adrien. He just never put up that wall. But if he had, if he still would now, I wouldn't give up on him, either, because I know the kind of person he is," her eyes darted back to Bridgette and gave her a small, reassuring smile.

Bridgette smiled back, taking Marinette's hand. "Thank you for understanding," she cleared her throat. "Anyway, we do have to meet back up with Black Cat and Chat Noir in awhile, so I should probably introduce you to my parents first and ask if you can stay with us."

"If your parents are anything like mine, I'm sure that won't be a problem," Marinette replied with a laugh.

Chat Noir followed Black Cat, his path very familiar. When he saw his house coming into view, a sense of relief flooded him.  
It appeared no different here than it did back home. Still just as big and fenced in as always. And yet, for the first time he could ever recall, the sight gave him comfort.

Black Cat slipped in through his open window, Chat copying his movements.  
As soon as Chat Noir landed in the room, he let his transformation end, as did Black Cat's.

"I'm Felix," he said in a bored tone. "You can stay here until we can send you home. I just have a few rules."

Felix stood but a foot from Adrien with his arms crossed. He was taller by a few inches, so Adrien had to tilt his head up in order to look him in the eyes.

"One, don't touch anything without asking me first. Two, don't bother me while you're here unless absolutely necessary. And three, stay out of my father's way. He won't care you're here, but it's best for everyone if he doesn't see you."

"Great, even in a different dimension I'm a prisoner in my own room," he mumbled as he plunked down on the bed.

Felix scoffed. "This isn't your room."

"Whether it technically is or not, it _looks_ like my room in what is identical to my house, and that's all that matters to me."

Felix rolled his eyes and went to his desk. Adrien saw a flash of red on his computer screen.

"Was that... was that Coccinelle?" he asked.

"Didn't I tell you not to bother me unless absolutely necessary? Why don't you play a video game or read a book while we wait to meet up with Coccinelle and Ladybug, huh?" Felix turned back around in his chair and grumbled to himself.

Adrien sighed and did as he was told. But only for now. He had too many questions he wanted answers to, he just needed to figure out a way to soften Felix up to get him to talk.


	4. Chapter 4

The four heroes met up, trying to keep a low profile. Hawk Moth was still a threat in this dimension, and if he knew he had double the chance of stealing the Miraculous, he would be sure to jump at the chance.

Ladybug noticed Chat Noir's face lighten up the moment he saw her. Before he looked rather glum. From Chat's point of view, instead of looking pleased to see him like he had hoped, Chat noticed she looked concerned instead.

"Here's your cat back," Black Cat said with the addition of an annoyed huff, crossed arms, and looking away from the group.

Coccinelle rolled her eyes at his behavior.

"Is it alright if I speak with him alone?" Ladybug asked Coccinelle, her expression worried. Coccinelle smiled gently and gave a nod.

Ladybug motioned for Chat Noir to follow her. They went nearby, to the spot they would meet up and talk with each other back home, whenever they found the time. She could tell Chat was down about something, but forcing himself to fake it.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently once he was seated next to her.

Chat Noir shook his head. "Nothing."

"Whatever it is, it isn't nothing'. I know you better than that. Won't you tell me?"

Chat Noir's smile transformed, instead of it being forced, it was small and sad. He glanced down at his lap. "Even here, I'm stuck in that room," he said softly.

Ladybug's eyes grew bigger, sadder.

"Here, the same thing happens. My mom, or the woman that would be my mom in this dimension, is gone. My dad reacts the same way here as he does in ours. If Felix is supposed to be some alternate version of me… I don't know, it scares me to think that I could've ended up cold and friendless, like him. He let what happened turn him into a cold jerk."

Ladybug put her hand on his shoulder. "But you didn't. You're good and kind. You wanted to reach out and make friends, and you're honestly the best friend I could've asked for. Don't let this experience make you think otherwise. Felix isn't you, and he's not an alternate version of you. The fact that you're worried about it shows just how good of a person you are."

"You really think so?" his eyes gleamed, his grin having returned.

"I really do," she assured. She brushed her hand through his hair. "I'll tell you just how great I think you are _after_ we make it back," she winked. "But for now, there's something else I want to talk to you about. You said Felix is the one living at your house, right?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

Ladybug bit her lip. "Well… don't tell her I said this, but Bridgette, ah that's Coccinelle, sort of has a thing for Felix. She's also my parents daughter in this dimension."

"So you're saying if we weren't born, and our parents had kids sooner than us, this dimension is the result? No matter which dimension, someone from both of our families gets a Miraculous?"

"It would appear that way. I don't know much yet, but I met my parents from this dimension, and other than them not knowing who I am, they seem the same. Have you met your father yet?"

Chat let out an annoyed breath. "Felix won't give me the chance. He's keeping me in _his_ room. Looks almost identical to mine though, but he got upset when I said _my_ room…." he pouted, arms crossed.

"I wish I was able to offer you a place to stay for now, Kitty, but sadly nothing here is mine to offer. But I'll make sure to sneak out to visit you in case you need me," she nudged him with a laugh.

"With you here, this experience won't be so bad," he cracked a smile. "But I'm afraid the consequences of being here might have an effect on our world, so it's best if we can get this solved and head back."

Ladybug nodded, then side-eyed him. "Is that really the _only_ reason you're eager for us to get back?"

Chat's mouth popped open to respond, but words didn't come out. "Well, it's not the only reason…" he mumbled. "Anyway, we know each other's identities now, right? So we don't have to be Ladybug and Chat Noir all the time. Plagg-!"

"No, wait!" she exclaimed, reaching her hands out to stop him. "Don't. There's no rush."

"Why not? If we know, what's there to hide? Our Kwami's could probably use the break, too."

"I just…" she began. Now she was the one that looked a bit troubled.

"You… don't want to see me, do you?" his face fell.

Ladybug shook her head. "No! That's not it. I mean, I _do_ want to see you. I…" she took a deep breath, eyes closed so she could focus on her thoughts. "It's just... easier for me if we're Ladybug and Chat Noir when we're around each other. Just for now. Our focus has to be on getting home."

"So you're not unhappy or anything?"

"No," she answered. "I just need some time is all. Is that okay?"

He nodded. "Take as much as you need…," he leaned in, a sudden smirk on his face. "Marinette."

Ladybug froze, her stomach doing a little flip at the sound of her name. Chat Noir had said her name many, many times. Both to Marinette directly, or mentioning her to Ladybug. Adrien, too. She wasn't quite sure why it seemed so different this time. Her first thought to describe what she felt was "chilling", but that didn't seem to be appropriate for the situation. Not that it mattered, her mind decided to stop working at that moment.

He chuckled as she continued to stare wide-eyed, and headed back to Black Cat and Coccinelle. After a few moments of being alone, Ladybug groaned, throwing her head back.

When she too went back, she saw Chat Noir was serious again, discussing something with Coccinelle as Black Cat stood a few feet away from them.

"Ladybug!" she called over a wave of her hand. "I was just telling Chat Noir about how we got the last Ladybug and Chat Noir out of this dimension and back home."

"Or at least, where we think was there home," Black Cat muttered, sounding very monotone and bored.

"Nice, Black Cat," she sneered. "He's right that we can't know for certain, but the method should get you there if it doesn't on the first try."

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood with raised eyebrows, waiting for more.

"Viator comes popping in and out of our dimension, and it would seem he does the same in others, as he's responsible for you being here in the first place, and for the previous pair of you. He should be able to lead you back...eventually."

"Well, it's the best plan we've got, and probably ever going to have," she glanced at Chat who gave a slight nod. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

She shook her head. "The last time this happened, Viator left and then returned again within a couple of days. We've kept track of how often he's appeared since then, but it's really sporadic. The longest gap we've had between visits is 29 days."

"A month?" Chat gaped. "How are we going to be able to stay here that long?"

"We'll help you blend in as much as possible in the meantime," she gave a hard look at Black Cat, who sighed. "Obviously, it'll be really tricky to get our families to not only warm up to the idea, but not pry too much. We may have to make other arrangements…"

"For now, you'll come to school with us," Black Cat said in his usual cool tone. "But don't bother me with anything," he shot at Chat Noir.

"Wouldn't want to anyway," he muttered.

"It's getting late, and I'm sure you guys are tired. We'll talk about this more tomorrow, okay?" Coccinelle pulled Ladybug's arm gently to leave. She stayed in place, letting Coccinelle leave without her.

"Remember what I said... if you need me, okay?" she gave him a small smile, reaching out for his hand. She cradled it gently in hers, and gave a small, reassuring squeeze before turning to follow Coccinelle back to her home.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" he called after her. Then he turned to face disgusted looking Black Cat.

With a low whine, Chat Noir begrudgingly followed him home, trying to mentally prepare for the conversation with his "father" that he knew would undoubtedly go wrong. 

* * *

**It's been a long time since I've written for this! I really love the idea, but the lack of reception it's received had me putting this on the backburner.**

 **If you enjoy this fic so far, _please_ let me know!**


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